Last Saturday Baylor played Angelo State in the Spring’s first cup match.  The day started off with Sebastian “Five Names” waking up in a frenzy.  Peering out his dorm window, still dressed in his pink night gown, he freaked out when he saw a tiny patch of snow on the pitch, and immediately called the coach.  That, though, would not be the highlight of the day.  The snow melted, as coach Clayton reassured Sebastian it would, and the Bears took the pitch ready for a good day of rugby.

The first half saw strong play by the forwards.  Great communication, strong posting up, solid rucking, and a little aggression allowed the big boys to put in two scores in the first half.  Angelo State threatened late in the first half, but was only able to come up with a kick in for 3 points.  The score at the half Baylor 14 – Angelo State 3.

Coming out for the second half the boys were ready to go.  They continued their solid play, had some great tackles, and improved on their passing (slightly).  The only thing that hurt the Bears was their over aggressiveness on the scrums, and several times they were blown up for pushing too soon.  Nevertheless, solid play by both the pack and the backs resulted in three more scores.  As in the first half, Angelo State threatened a few times, but the solid defense of Baylor kept them to one kick and one try.  At the end of the day, Baylor prevailed 31-11.

One more win should be enough to insure that the Bears return to the State Playoffs.  This coming Saturday we host University of North Texas at 2pm.  Next Saturday we host Stephen F. Austin.  We need as many people out there as possible to cheer the boys on, it does make a difference.

Baylor traveled north this past weekend to take on the University of Dallas in 25 mph winds.  The game was dedicated to scrumhalf Tyler Jackson, who was the honorary captain, this being his very last match with Baylor.  The match started off slow, but once the Bears warmed up, things began to fall into place.  Good rucks and mauls allowed the guys to move down the field for the match’s first points by 8 man Andy Audet, Brent Brookshire was successful on the conversion.  UD responded by taking back possession, working through their forwards with successful picks, and shirking off the horrible arm tackling by Baylor.  UD though was no match for Baylor and the Bear’s defense stopped UD from putting in any points.  Taking back possession, Baylor marched down the pitch with another fine display of rucking, mauling, and passing, and fullback Justin Evans put in another score.  A couple of minutes later great ball handling and support from Andy Audet and Scott Lake allowed winger Matt Reid to score another try.  UD threatened once more, but again was unsuccessful.  The halftime score was 17-0

During halftime, Coach Clayton Jewett gave the Bears a good tongue lashing for their horrible tackling, and it must have worked.  The second half started with amazing hits and tackles by Matt Reid, Jake Amescua, Brent Brookshire, and Andy Audet.  Baylor continued their excellent rucking and passing, and flyhalf Travis Bonning would put in another try.  A few minutes after, Justin Evans had a break away run for another try, Brent Brookshire was successful on the conversion.  This would bring the score to 29-0.  Toward the end of the match, a mental mistake allowed UD to pick up the ball and run in for try from 20 meters out, the guys were too busy talking to the ref and not paying attention to the match.  UD was successful on the conversion, and the final score was 29-7.  The important thing about this match is that the team came together better than in previous weeks, and is continuing to improve.

After the match, Baylor joined UD for a 3^rd half.  Things appeared to be going just fine in the beginning, except for one thing – only 4 UD players showed up to their own 3^rd half.  About 30 minutes into the festivities, the Bears broke out singing.

This was the last match of the semester and the Bears will continue play on January 22 against Sam Houston, in Waco.

Baylor rebounds from the loss to Rice to defeat TCU in a close battle by a count of 15 -12.

Well contested match from beginning to end, with the game up for grabs until the end. Tied at 12 at the half, the difference was a penalty kick by Baylor early in the second half. Congratulations to both sides for keeping the emotions in check and playing in the spirit of the game in a tightly contested match.

On Dec. 4th Baylor travels to Dallas to take on the UD.

On Saturday, 13 November at 2pm, the Bears will travel to Rice for the first cup match of the season. The Owls defeated Baylor earlier this year at the Cowtown tournament, but with new recruits, a little experience and lots of conditioning, the Bears are hoping to seize victory. We hope to see all the alumni and fans who can make it to Houston!